Koorosh Talieh

KT’s practice focuses on complex insurance litigation, counseling, arbitrations, trials, and appeals. KT represents corporate policyholders in disputes seeking to enforce insurance coverage for products, environmental, construction, directors and officers, employment, fiduciary, errors and omissions, and intellectual property liabilities, and a wide array of first-party property and business interruption losses. His experience includes all phases of dispute resolution from pre-complaint investigation and advice through mediation, arbitration, trial, appeals and settlements. KT has extensive experience in analyzing insurance coverage under various types of policies including general liability, directors and officers, errors and omissions, bankers professional liability, employers professional liability, fiduciary liability, first-party property, builder’s risk, multimedia and other types of specialized insurance products. He also provides risk management consulting services to clients during procurement process renewal for all risks and lines of coverage. KT is admitted to practice before the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut, and the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

• Represents a global manufacture of light, medium and heavy duty trucks, in an insurance coverage action arising out of the sale of trucks in the European Union.
• Represents a leading "green" ship dismantling and recycling company in an insurance coverage action involving the sinking of a vessel in Puerto Rico. (Starr Indemnity and Liability Company v. Marine Environmental Remediation Group, LLC)
• Represented one for the largest oilfield services companies, in insurance coverage disputes arising from the Deepwater Horizon incident and the ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Represented a major coal producing company and its subsidiary, in insurance coverage disputes arising from the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in Motcoal, WV.
• Represented a major coal producing company and its subsidiaries in an action against its liability insurers involving allegations of bodily injury and property damage arising out of coal mining operations in nearly 400 underlying actions. Obtained a significant favorable ruling on the applicability of the absolute pollution exclusion to the underlying bodily injury and property damage claims. (Massey Energy Company & Omar Mining Company v. American International Group (AIG) Casualty Company, et al.)
• Represented a major coal producing company and its subsidiary in an action against its liability insurers involving allegations of bodily injury and property damage arising out of coal mining operations in more than 700 underlying actions. (Massey Energy Company & Rawls Sales & Processing Company v. American International Underwriters (AIU) Insurance Company, et al.)
• Represented a major coal producing company seeking insurance recovery under certain directors and officers insurance policies for a shareholder derivative action and a securities litigation alleging breaches of fiduciary duties, abuse of control, mismanagement and waste of corporate asset, as well as violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Successfully settled the securities litigation insurance claim for $75 million inclusive of defense costs.
• Represented an oil field services company in its insurance recovery efforts under certain directors and officers insurance policies for two separate securities claims alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by making false and misleading statements and omitting material facts. Successfully recovered in excess of $125 million in both defense and indemnity, the bulk of which was used to settle the underlying securities litigation.
• Represented a major educational institution in litigation over coverage for its property damage and business interruption losses caused by Hurricane Katrina. The case settled successfully prior to trial at mediation. (Allianz Global Risk Insurance Company v. The Administrators of Tulane Educational Fund)
• Represented a major educational institution in litigation over coverage for its property damage and business interruption losses caused by Hurricane Katrina. (Ace USA v. The Administrators of Tulane Educational Fund)
• Represented a major coal-producing company in a first-party property damage and business interruption case trial in the Eastern District of Virginia. The case was settled favorably prior to closing arguments after the court entered a directed verdict on certain of the insurance companies' key defenses. (Massey Energy Company v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, et al.)
• Represented a heavy equipment manufacturer in a mass tort asbestos bodily injury insurance coverage action under certain general liability insurance policies. Obtained a significant appellate victory on the issue of "all sums" allocation under Illinois law. (Caterpillar Inc. v. Century Indemnity Company)
• Represented a major coal producing company in a wrongful death and bodily injury action against its liability insurer arising out of a mine fire. (Aracoma Coal Company Inc. et al., v. American International Specialty Lines Insurance Company)
• Represented a major Midwestern electrical utility company, in a multimillion-dollar first-party property claim for contingent business interruption and other time element coverages arising out of a natural disaster. Successfully resolved the case before trial at mediation. 
• Negotiated a complex coverage-in-place cost share agreement with a number of insurance companies on behalf of a multinational, consumer products client involved in a mass tort asbestos bodily injury litigation. 
• Represented Dow Corning Corp. in a London arbitration under the English Arbitration Act against a Bermuda-based insurance company for bodily injury claims arising out of silicone-gel breast implants. (Dow Corning Corp. v. XL Insurance Company)
• Represented General Housewares Corp. in its pursuit of insurance coverage against a number of its liability insurers for environmental property damage claims throughout the United States. (General Housewares Corp. v. National Surety Corp.)
• Represented a major coal producing company in an action against its directors and officers insurers arising out of a shareholder derivative action. The case was mediated and favorably settled before trial. (Massey Energy Company v. Zurich Insurance Co.)
• Represented a major educational institution in a first-party property damage claim arising out of Hurricane Katrina against its insurer and its insurance broker under a fine arts policy. The case settled favorably at mediation before trial. (The Administrators of Tulane Educational Fund v. Amlin Underwriters Company LTD., et al.)
• Played a leading role in obtaining insurance coverage for property damage claims on behalf of a multi-national corporate policyholder. After an eight-week trial, a Delaware jury deliberated for less than three hours before entering a verdict upholding the policyholder's insurance coverage for thousands of product liability claims involving polybutylene plumbing. (Hoechst Celanese Corp. v. National Union Insurance Co.)

• Recognized as a Leader in Insurance: Policyholder, District of Columbia, Chambers USA, 2014–2024
• Named one of the Top 10 Policyholder Insurance Lawyers in the District of Columbia, Business Today, 2023

• Recipient of the 2021 Thomas Segalla Award by the American College of Coverage Counsel

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America: Insurance Law (2018-2024) and Insurance Litigation (2023-2024)
• Listed in the International Who’s Who of Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers, 2013–2014
• Selected as a Super Lawyer for Insurance Coverage, The Washington Post Magazine, 2012-2024
• “AV Peer Review Rated” by Martindale-Hubbell

• Board of Regents, American College of Coverage Counsel
• Fellow, American College of Coverage Counsel; Co-Chair, Membership Committee
• Member, American Bar Association, Torts and Insurance Practice Section, Business Law Section
• Former Member of Editorial Advisory Board, Environmental Claims Journal